Do you need some help with your claim?
I'm accepting limited appointments to talk live on the phone or to videoconference with you. There is no fee for this service.
If you'd like to talk, provide me with some information about who you are and what's up and I'll be in touch. /s/ Jim
When You Hit A Dead End
The Department of Veterans Affairs
White House Hotline
855 - 948 - 2311
< Denis.McDonough@va.gov >
Yes, this really works. No, it doesn't ring in the White House. The email address and phone number are staffed by a seemingly serious group of players, many who are veterans, and if you have a legit issue, telling these folks is like bringing in the artillery.
Let's prepare for your call or email. Make some notes before you proceed so you don't forget anything.
I prefer email since there's no waiting for someone to answer and I can take my time to prepare the story in just the right detail.
Be sure to include your DOB, your last 4, contact info...a couple of numbers, your preferred email and such.
Describe the problem as briefly as you can. Less is more. Include the necessary components but don't tell your life story.
Don't rant. Be polite...military courtesy will get you places that hollering IN ALL CAPS won't. Respect!
Don't waste their time with bogus complaints about your feelings being hurt. If you appropriately utilize this
service, I'll vouch that this works like a champ.
Tell them you read about this at The VAWatchdog Dot Org...they know who we are.
The VA Watchdog Dot Org
Since 2005, We're Keeping An Eye On Your VA
Because Somebody Has To!
Welcome Home! I'm Jim Strickland. I'm an Army vet, I was 91-D20 in USAREUR at the
98th General Hospital near Camp Baumholder 1967 - 1970. I publish the VAWatchdog
Dot Org to help you obtain the benefits you earned by your service to our country.
I'll share what I'm reading today, the important stuff. Feedback is always welcomed.
NO DIGITAL ADVERTISING means no ad-trackers. Nobody is looking at your data here.
Veterans Law Attorney
Graduate of the US Military Academy West Point, 20 years of active Army service, multiple deployments,
XVIII Airborne Corps, and Third Army, Airborne and Master Explosive Ordnance Disposal badges.
Independent Medical Opinions Nexus Letters
Thomas Grieder, MD PhD
25 Years Service as a VA Psychiatrist
Lead Psychiatrist East Los Angeles
PTSD Clinical Team
I'm Jim Strickland
and I approve of this message.
Three Consequences of Using Marijuana After Your State “Legalizes”
1. Marijuana users will fail future NICS firearm background checks.
$113.1 Billion Discretionary VA Bill for ’22 Submitted
The Biden administration’s proposed $113.1 billion spending bill for the Department of Veterans Affairs addresses delivery of health-care services, homelessness, suicide prevention, support for caregivers, and technological improvements.
Let's File A Claim
Filing your claim for VAbenefits isn't as hard as some want you to believe. Let's set the effective date of any claim you file in the next year. This one is easy so let's do it right now.
American Rescue Plan Helps Veterans
As part of the American Rescue Plan, the Veteran Rapid Retraining Assistance Program (VRRAP)
provides financial aid to help you recover from the financial impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Medical Experts For Veterans Disability Claims
Serving Veterans, Service Officers, & Attorneys since 2015
Nexus Letters / Medical Opinions - Get Started Now
Veterans Law Attorney Personal Injury Law
Nationwide Representation Free Veterans Consultations
Workers Compensation - Social Security Disability - Pain & Suffering - Emotional & Mental Anguish
Veterans unemployed due to pandemic now eligible for VA job training funds
VRRAP covers education and training programs approved under the GI Bill and Veteran Employment
Through Technology Education Courses, or VET TEC, that lead to high-demand jobs.
These include associate degrees, non-college degrees, and certificate programs.
Alabama
V A Claims Intake Center
PO BOX 4444
JANESVILLE, WI
53547- 4444
Toll Free Fax:
844-531-7818
Gregory Rada Veterans Law Attorney
Military Veteran - Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom
VA disability appeals, TDIU claims, MST, PTSD, other mental health disability claims, appeals and veterans disability claims processes.
Attorney Rada offers free telephone case evaluations and nationwide representation.
Interest rate reduction refinance loan
If you have an existing VA-backed home loan and you want to reduce your monthly mortgage payments—
or make your payments more stable—an interest rate reduction refinance loan (IRRRL) may be right for you.
Veterans Psych Evaluations
Brett Valette, Ph.D.
Providing Military Veterans Personalized Psychological and Medical Evaluations. Complete the Contact form, and you'll get a personal phone call from us. We listen, and want to know what you are going through. We provide Independent Medical Evaluations (IME), Independent Medical Opinions (IMO) and nexus letters for ratings reviews, secondary conditions, medical conditions, discharge upgrades, and many types of denied claims. We also provide Social Security Disability claim reports.
Some Wounds Can't Be Seen Contact Us Today
Jim Strickland is a Vietnam era Army veteran and nationally recognized expert on VA
disability benefits. Jim writes extensively about VA and Social Security disability benefits.
Jim's Mailbag is a regular column featured at Stateside Legal where veterans, servicemembers,
and family members can ask Jim their questions about VA and Social Security disability benefits.
Type your paragraph here.
How To Increase An Existing Rating %
A great idea to learn more about how your condition is rated when others have appealed decisions similar to yours is to use the BVA search engine. Just like the image you see over there, the search engine asks for key words, then you pick the years to search and you are off on your research journey.
The BVA search engine is a great tool to study your particular condition and the potential and issues surrounding it.
Question:
Thanks for your Service. I'm a Marine Viet-Vet rated at 100% T&P since Dec., 2016. May I get a part-time job without jeopardizing my rating? And since I must convince my wife that I am not risking a thing, can you point me to official documentation that clarifies this? Thanks.
Reply:
There isn't a single piece of official documentation that states that as clearly as you want it said. These are often incredibly complex rulings and trying to understand how one piece of legislation, rules or regulations affect others is a science.
The answer to your question is yes. You may work as you please and not put your rating in any danger.
If you are 100% permanently and totally rated by The Schedule For Rating Disabilities, (a 100% schedular rating) then you are allowed to work as you are able to and you can generate any income without limits.
If you are rated as 100% permanently and totally disabled because of Total Disability Individual Unemployability or TDIU, you are not allowed to work at 'gainful employment' or employment that earns more than the federal poverty income limits.
If you'd like to do some research, follow these links below.
https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/38/4.16
http://www.benefits.va.gov/WARMS/docs/admin21/m21_1/mr/part4/subptii/ch02/M21-1IV_ii_2_SecF.docx
https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2017/12/08/2017-26523/extra-schedular-evaluations-for-individual-disabilities
https://www.va.gov/disability/eligibility/special-claims/unemployability/
A Veterans Affairs (VA) disability compensation rating reflects the rated condition in the approximate moment in time when the rating decision was made. Ratings in 10% increments reflect the severity of a disabling condition on an increasing scale from 0% to 100%.
There are ratings above and beyond the standard 100% rating and those are reserved for the most acutely injured or ill veterans. It's accepted that over time a given disabling condition may become worse or more disabling and an upward adjustment to the rating should be considered. There are a few common sense steps to performing what is essentially a new application for a benefit...this one being an increase.
To be sure you're eligible and can prove your claim, have a look at The Schedule For Rating Disabilities
The Schedule is your guide to what you may be eligible for. You may learn that your current rating is already at the maximum or that your current rating is seriously deficient. You have to research it to know. Gather your evidence and records to support the increase.
If there are civilian medical records, you have to gather those for yourself. Do not rely on VA to obtain your civilian records.
It's time to file the claim.
Be as precise as you can to describe just what it is that you want. Provide supporting evidence. I think that it's a good idea to go ahead and have an IMO done .
File your Intent To File A Claim form and have an IMO done to provide when you finally get around to filing the claim for an increase.
If you take the time to do a thorough job of crossing t's and dotting i's after you've filed your Intent to File form, an increase is a pretty sure thing. You have to go in with all the evidence you need though...do not depend on VA to help!
If you're sure, go for it. If you aren't sure, you have some more work to do.
File the intent to file and gather evidence!
The NPRC
Military Records
Fascinating historical documents, reports on items in the news, oddities and fun stuff and government bloopers, they're all here.
Were you hazed while serving in the military? GAO may want to hear from you
The Government Accountability Office is looking for service members who were victims of hazing while they served.
The office is collecting the information for a study on the Defense Department’s efforts to prevent and respond to hazing.
Lodging & Camping in southern Illinois with access to the Shawnee National
We offer lodging, camping,
stabling, corral, pasture,
access to a hunting lease and
discounts for America's
military veterans!
Nexus and IMO Letters
Welcome to the KnowVA Knowledge Base
Locate information more quickly and efficiently
Where did your claim disappear to?
Veterans hit by huge pandemic-related records backlog
National Archives estimates it will take 18 to 24 months to clear the backlog once the records center is fully staffed
disability claim
Find out how to file a claim for disability compensation
or increased disability compensation.
CDC updates guidance on how COVID-19 spreads
The CDC updated its guidance on COVID-19 transmission May 7,
underscoring that the virus spreads via small respiratory droplets and particles in the air.
You may file claims on eBenefits or you can mail them in using certified mail or you can even fax them in.
Download VA benefit letters
To receive some benefits, Veterans need a letter proving their status.
Jim Strickland
jim912@gmail.com
New financial tool provides Veterans more control and transparency
Any Veteran with a debt related to VA benefits can now access their debt information online
Title 38 - Pensions, Bonuses, and Veterans' Relief
Volume: 1
Date: 2019-07-01
Original Date: 2019-07-01
Title: PART 17 - MEDICAL
The secret truth of the student debt crisis
Most student debt will be canceled sooner or later, because an ever-growing share
of borrowers cannot possibly repay their loans. Ever.
Veterans Affairs:Use of Additional Funding for COVID-19 Relief
As of April 14, 2021, the Department of Veterans Affairs reported 224,538 cumulative
COVID-19 cases among veterans, with 11,366 deaths.
Never Stop Reading
Never Stop Learning
Rates of Parkinson’s disease are exploding.
A common chemical - trichloroethylene (TCE) - may be to blame
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General
COVID-19 fraud is rapidly evolving. This page is frequently updated.
Schedule for Rating Disabilities
"It's a little like wrestling a gorilla. You don't quit when you're tired.
You quit when the gorilla is tired." — Robert Straus
How To
When you deal with your VA benefits there are dozens, maybe hundreds of resources on the Internet, usually way too complex
to read or they want your money to open their secrets...how do you choose where to take advice and council? I think I have
the answer. When you want to deal with your VA, whether you're filing a claim or trying to get along with your health care providers,
you need to hear the voice of a veteran who actually uses the VA. I'm in the process of providing that resource for you...for free.
No sign-up, no registration, instant access to reliable information. It's your VA, use it effectively.
This is a Work In Progress throughout 2021. Check back every now and then for updates.
Vaccine Eligibility Expanded at DoD Sites
All eligible and authorized TRICARE beneficiaries and Defense Department personnel
can now get vaccinated for Covid-19 at DoD sites.
Get Started
Two options explaining the
Benefits you've earned.
Dependents & Survivor Benefits Specializing In Veterans Law Federal Tort Claims Disability Claims
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Veterans Struggle to Get Copies of Needed Service Records Due to Pandemic
Access to some VA benefits, services delayed as backlog of requests hits 500,000